The New Lucy
by Helena306 PlagueRat
Summary: Sweeney meets a woman and her daughter who remind him of his lost wife and daughter one night at Mrs. Lovett's shop. What will happen when he falls in love again, and what about Mrs. Lovett? My first stroy here. Enjoy and reviews are definately loved.
1. Luisa and Joan

**Luisa and Joan**

**Hello my fellow fanfic writers, I'm just a simple noob here. I hope I can make you proud with my future stories though and maybe even make some friends if I'm lucky enough. This is my first story (obviously). Basically Sweeney meets a woman who's just like Lucy only better, which upon finding all of this out makes for a jealous Nellie Lovett. I don't know exactly where I'm heading with this, but hopefully I can do it well. Oh and, reviews will get a thank you. **** Don't make me beg.**

Sweeney Todd paced in his tonsorial parlor thinking of one of the most recent victories of his life, the murders of the late Beadle Bamford and Judge Turpin. Shortly after killing the judge and finding a young 'man' hiding in the chest that at one point contained the late Adolfo Pirelli, he had heard the feminine scream that could only belong to his landlady and partner in crime, Mrs. Nellie Lovett. He had turned to the young 'man' and had told 'him' to forget his face. Soon after the barber found himself in the baker's bake house, he seemed to have surprised the baker who was hurriedly throwing the body of one of his victims into the oven before he noticed it. For the baker knew that after hearing her he would rush down to check out the cause of the shrill scream, and she did not want him to catch sight of the person whose life he'd recently brought to an end, for it would surely lead to the end of hers as well. With the help of the baker he had heaved the bodies of the Judge and Beadle into the fiery oven. He now watched from his window as the baker bustled from table to table, taking orders and handing out pies and ale in every direction. He couldn't help but laugh at the bakers misfortune when a rambunctious child rain into her as he ran in the outside section of her shop, making the pie she was holding fly into the air only to land on her head, making the contents of the pie land in her hair. The restaurant came to a hush and a woman whom Sweeney could only assume to be the now embarrassed mother quickly grabbed her son, scolding him as she dragged him back to his seat. Mrs. Lovett let out a small giggle and quickly ran inside to fix her hair the best that she could, leaving Toby to take care of the customers that were left.

As he watched Mrs. Lovett make her way into the shop Sweeney couldn't help but notice two people. Waiting to be seated by the boy were a yellow haired woman and a yellow haired young girl who looked to be around 9. Seeing these two females he thought of only two people, his beautiful Lucy and his little Johanna. Suddenly he wanted to be downstairs, but it wasn't the lack of order due to the bakers disappearance that made he want to do so. Oh no, it was the two blonde girls, he wanted to talk to this woman who just by looking at her yellow hair reminded him of his lost love. He quietly made his way down the stairs and snuck over to the girls without being noticed by Toby or many other people for that matter. "Hello, I can sit you if you'd like." The woman and her daughter smiled at Sweeney and he led them over to a table.

The woman smiled at Sweeney as she sat down, allowing him to get a good look at her eyes, a beautiful shade of blue, just like his Lucy's. And her skin, perfect and healthy looking just as his Lucy's had always been, and her daughter looked just like he imagined his Johanna looked at such a young age. He smiled down at the woman as soon as she sat down. "So, do you enjoy working with your son and wife?"

Sweeney looked at her strangely and then shook his head slightly. "No, Mrs. Lovett and I simply work together. The boy's her adopted son, but neither of them are even remotely a part of _my_ family." He said my in such a way to express the distaste of comparing 'those two' to his perfect wife and child.

The woman nodded "so you're the barber up there then?" Sweeney simply nodded "Mr. Sweeney Todd, it's nice to meet you…"

"Luisa, it's very nice to meet you Mr. Todd. And this is my nine year old daughter Joan." Sweeney looked away from the woman slowly, deep in his memories. ", are you alright sir?"

Sweeney snapped back to reality quickly. "Yes, I was just thinking of my family. My wife Lucy had an unfortunate experience and well, she took her life. And my daughter Johanna was taken from me before I got to see her grow up. I spent fifteen years in prison for a crime I didn't even commit, and came home to no family at all." Luisa frowned and her eyes showed a clear sense of sadness for him. "I don't know why I'm telling you this; I never talk to anyone like this anymore. You just remind me of her. She had yellow hair like you, blue eyes, even her skin looked the same. And I can only imagine that my daughter looked the same as yours at that age. I miss them so much."

Luisa put a hand on the barber's shoulder. He gave a slight twitch but didn't push her away immediately. "I understand what you're going through , me 'usband died of pneumonia when Jane was only 2 years old. It's been a bit hard fer both of us, 'er without a father to protect 'er and me without 'that someone' to love anymore."

Sweeney sighed and shook his head. "Many times I really don't think I could ever fall in love again. I've never met anyone as beautiful or perfect as my Lucy."

Luisa moved over to allow him some space to sit next to her. He sat down and she frowned at him slightly. "If you ask me Mr. Todd that seems rather selfish of you. You don't want yerself or some lucky new woman to be happy, just because she's not as good looking or as sweet as yer late wife? No one is perfect Sweeney Todd, and while you may not believe it, not even yer wife could've been perfect."

At first Sweeney glared at the woman, but as he watched her nod slowly he knew she was right. "Well she did have an awful snore; she made it hard to sleep at times. Plus she laughed at everything, and I mean everything. She even laughed at things that were meant to be very serious; her laugh even got on my nerves a bit. It wasn't really sweet sounding like I thought a woman's laugh ought to be, it always sounded fake and forced." He thought about his wife again, but this time he thought of her faults instead of her good points.

Luisa laughed lightly and Sweeney's lips twitched upwards slightly, Luisa truly had a woman's laugh. "Forgive me for being so quick, but I know for a fact that I do not snore. And I do agree that it can be a rather distracting problem. And as I can only guess, I seem to laugh the laugh of a true woman. So I was just curious, would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night?"

Sweeney froze suddenly, just staring at the woman who had subtly asked him on what clearly sounded like a date. He cleared his throat quietly and blinked his eyes in unbelief a few times. "Um, well… *Clearing throat.* I don't, know if that's… *Blinks eyes.*

Luisa giggled quietly and Sweeney raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "'S okay Mr. Todd, no reason to stop speaking complete sentences. I'm only asking for one, is there something wrong with that?

Sweeney smiled and shook his head. "No, not at all. In fact you seem like a very sweet, caring and quite amusing woman."

Luisa nodded and smiled in agreement. "Well, all of me friends used to say that I was the funny one in the group. And let me guess, you were the awkwardly shy one?"

Sweeney frowned and looked away from the woman. "I used to be when I had my wife and daughter with me, even before then. All of those years in prison though, they changed me. Now my loneliness is more of a preference than a shyness.

Luisa smiled and put a consoling hand on the barber's knee. As if that was the only thing that needed to happen in order for Sweeney Todd to break out of the stone faced remorseful look, he suddenly looked at her as if he was about to cry. "Don't be upset Mr. Todd, you'll get over this, believe me. There was a time when I never thought I'd love again either, after me 'usband died, happiness seemed nearly impossible. Then one day I just decided that I wasn' doing anyone any good by feeling sorry fer meself. Nothing was bringin' me love back and nothing ever could, so I just straightened up and started over. Maybe that's just what you need to do."

Sweeney smiled at the woman and nodded. She was right; he did need to accept the ending that Lucy had faced at some point. And if not now, then when? He decided to take Luisa up on the offer she had given him not too long ago and as they continued talking until Luisa and her daughter had to leave he continued to realize something. This woman was so much like his Lucy in more ways than just how she looked, Lucy's whole sweet and beautiful personality were in this woman. Plus, she didn't seem to have any of the flaws that Lucy had, which made what Luisa said earlier untrue. There was such thing as perfect and that was just what Luisa was, PERFECT.


	2. Jealous Much

**Jealous Much**

** In this chapter Sweeney will be going to on his first dinner date with Luisa, how will this make our dear baker feel though? Threatened, maybe pretty jealous? Yeah, try all of the above. As mentioned in chapter 1, reviews will be loved. And if wanted, reviewers will get free cyber hugs. **

Sweeney sat in Mrs. Lovett's pie shop the next afternoon, swishing the clear gin in his glass. Nellie Lovett, the baker and his partner in crime, did nothing but stare at the demon barber. He had been acting strangely all morning, not at all like himself. When she had went up to his shop earlier that morning to give him his breakfast he was in his chair like normal, but instead of looking tense as he usually did, he actually looked quite relaxed. And when he had come down for his gin, he also came down with a clean tray. He had actually eaten the eggs, bacon, toast a juice she had given him. This was a very strange thing considering that he never ate what she gave him, or he ate very little. She decided to try talking to the barber. "Um, Mr. Todd, is everything alright love? I just mean that you never eat anything I give you, you're acting so, different."

Sweeney looked up from his drink and nodded. "I supposed you'll find out at some point, I might as well tell you now my pet. Last night, when you went to fix your hair after that pie fell on your head, I decided to come down and help out in your absence. And well, there was this woman and her nine year old daughter, Luisa and Joan. And well…"

Nellie's expression turned from one of curiosity to one of worry, but Sweeney did not notice this. "You like 'er Mr. T, or at least 'ave a fondness?"

Sweeney nodded and for the first time she had known him as Sweeney, he smiled. She gasped and looked away to attempt to hide her surprise and sadness. It was too late though, he saw small tears start to well in her eyes. "Mrs. Lovett, what's wrong? If you have a problem with me…"

The baker shook her head quickly. "No, of course not Mr. T. You should be 'appy, especially considering all that you've been through." She put her small gloved hand on top of his large one. "Don't you worry 'bout me Mr. Todd, I'm just fine." She got up from her seat across from the barber, stood beside him and bent down to loosely wrap her arms around his neck. Surprisingly to both of them he didn't push her away, in fact he responded by wrapping his arms around her waist. She quickly pulled away at that point, worried that having him hold her like this while he was starting to grow feelings again for a woman that wasn't her, would only upset her more than she already was. "Now you should be getting ready dearie, you don't want to keep 'er waiting later do ye now?" Sweeney got up quickly and left to return to his shop. As soon as she heard his door slam shut Mrs. Lovett made her way into her bedroom slowly, in complete disbelief of what had just happened. After spending so many months moping around about Lucy and Johanna, and he was finally moving on, with a woman he'd just met! She flopped stomach down on her bed, soaking her pillow with her tears, not giving a care about how wet it was getting. She swore she could cry a river with how the barber was making her feel right now. Was she so terrible that he'd choose a woman whom he'd just met over a woman who'd taken care of and loved him for more than just the few months he had been back in London? She didn't want to think about him right now though; she especially didn't want to think of the stranger who was taking her Mr. Todd away from her. She only wanted to think about how horrible she felt and how torn to pieces her heart seemed to be, it was a morbid thought to believe that nothing could fix the heart that Sweeney was breaking into small pieces, but at the moment that's all that she could think about.

A few hours later Sweeney came downstairs in a nice outfit and his leather jacket. It wasn't exactly a suit, but it was nicer than his normal clothing. Mrs. Lovett looked up when she saw Sweeney and her jaw dropped, he looked more handsome than he ever had before. Suddenly she felt her hands start to clam up and her mouth went dry, she didn't know what to say to him. He looked so beautiful, and the thing that upset her was that it wasn't for her as she had always dreamt. "So Mrs. Lovett, how do I look pet?"

She walked up to him slowly and looked at him head to toe; he was even more beautiful up close. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and for him to hold onto her as he had that afternoon, only closer and more lovingly. She wanted to tell him how much she'd loved him all of these years, to beg that he not leave her to go on a date with another woman because she loved him too much to let him go. She knew that she wouldn't do it though, she would do a lot to make herself happy, but she wouldn't risk the happiness of the only man she'd ever loved to make herself happier. So she simply nodded, took one of his hands in both of hers and said, "you look wonderful love." He thanked her and before she had the chance to even say good-bye he was out the door and getting a carriage to pick up Luisa. Mrs. Lovett stared at the carriage until it turned the corner with the barber sitting inside. She put her back against the door and slowly slid down to the floor. She could just see it now, even though she was jumping ahead way too quickly. Luisa looked just like Lucy and Joan just like Johanna. Sweeney had instantly gotten attracted to her looks, but soon things would get better for him but only worse for Nellie. He would get to know Luisa better until she would heat up his cold heart again like Lucy had kept his heart warm all of those years ago, and little Joan would become like a second Johanna to him. Her eyes became blurry with the far future thought of the two of them getting married and Mrs. Lovett would be nowhere to be seen. Even if she was lucky enough for Sweeney to invite her and her adopted son Toby to his second wedding, she wouldn't be able to bear going and seeing him marry yet another woman who wasn't herself. She knew it was cruel to want Mr. Todd all to herself, but that's the type of woman she was. Once she saw an opportunity she had to grab for it and hold on as tight as she could, otherwise she feared that she would surly lose it forever. There had been so many opportunities since Sweeney had come to London, but either Sweeney hadn't seen these opportunities as she had hoped, or she hadn't grabbed onto them tightly enough. She knew she was way ahead of herself, already imaging the barber marrying this woman he had just met the previous night, but she couldn't help it. She could feel the tears coming so she quickly picked herself up from the floor and hastily walked into her bedroom. She knew that if Toby heard or saw her crying then he would ask her what was wrong out of worry, bless his sweet little heart. She didn't feel like lying to him right now by telling him the usual "just tired is all," or some other false truth to make him feel better. She just wanted to cry and to do that she needed to be completely alone.

Apparently Mrs. Lovett had cried herself to sleep because before she knew it her eyes opened at the sound of nearby woman's joyful laughter. She got out of bed and peered out the window of her bedroom, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. She could make out Sweeney's figure and who she could only imagine to be Luisa beside him. Nellie's suspicions were correct; she did look just like Lucy. Same yellow hair, same healthy skin (not dark, but also not ghostly pale as her own), she couldn't see the woman's eyes but she could only assume they were a bright blue as Lucy's had been. She felt sad and slightly betrayed by Mr. Todd (though nothing ever happened between them that could show this was truly betrayal) for seeming so happy with another woman. She crossed her arms, blinked away her forthcoming tears and gulped heavily as she watched the barber talk and laugh with this 'new Lucy.' She wanted to go outside and pull the barber away from **her**. She wanted to go out there and act like she needed his help with something important, but she had to face the true facts. 1) Sweeney Todd would never agree to help her with anything, no matter how small, unless it would benefit him as well. 2) If he did buy it, she wouldn't be able to come up with something important enough she needed 'help' with in fast enough time before he got suspicious. 3) He looked happier now than he ever had since he had returned to London and she didn't really want to ruin that for him. No matter how much it was ruining her.

She broke away from her thoughts and put all of her focus on the couple again, clutching onto the fabric of her dress in the space where her heart was located when she saw Luisa hug her Mr. T, and he happily hugged her back. Maybe it wasn't a kiss but it felt as important to the baker, then again no one really kissed on the first date, even Mrs. Lovett knew that it wasn't a proper thing for a lady to do. Still she wanted to be in Luisa's shoes at the moment, hugging the barber in a way that clearly showed more than acquaintanceship or mere friendliness. She wanted to hold him and tell him how much she'd loved him all of these years, but at this moment she didn't know if she ever would. So she simply left her room to take a peek on Toby who lay sloppily asleep in his bed, in the bedroom for him that they had worked on together, before she made her way into her pie shop to quickly pour a small glass of gin. She had to make it appear as if she simply couldn't sleep and instead was relaxing with a small glass of alcohol to help her out a bit. Sweeney came through the door soon after, not suspecting a thing.


	3. A Fool's Wedding and A Fool's Pie

**A Fool's Wedding and A Fool's Pie**

** Here it is for anyone who reads it, chapter 3 of "The New Lucy." I was already suffering some writers block, that is until I thought about today and a funny chapter 3. Sweeney thinks he has the perfect plan to make for a tricked Mrs. Lovett, but he'll learn that no matter what, she'll try her hardest to have the last laugh. Hope you read and enjoy, reviews are always appreciated. **

It had been five months since Sweeney and Luisa had begun seeing one another. Any rumors that anyone was possibly spreading of the barber and baker being in some sort of romantic relationship had died down, with the knowledge that the barber and this other woman were in a relationship. Sweeney was pacing in his barber shop at the moment, but he wasn't thinking of Luisa, he was thinking of the baker downstairs as a matter of fact. He was thinking about the past and remembered how she had always enjoyed and was always steps ahead of him on this certain day. Not this time though, he was going to get her back for every time she had gotten him. He grabbed the ring his sister (Benjamin's that was) had given him moments before she had died of the plague when she was 14. He turned it over in his hand, looking at it closely. It was indeed a female's ring, two tiny round rubies, with one larger heart-shaped ruby in between. He stared out the window for a bit thinking about his little sister, and before he knew it a single tear was making its way down his cheek. He quickly brushed it away, he was a demon now and demons were to be feared, not to be pitied. He quickly shoved the ring into his pocket and walked down to the pie shop to put his plan into action.

He opened the door with a small smile on his face. Mrs. Lovett, noticing this right away, smiled back. "What's on your mind Mr. T, what are you thinkin' about love?"

Sweeney took the ring out of his pocket and placed it on the table, sitting in one of the booths. At the sound of the silver hitting the table she spun around quickly, gasping at the sight of the beautiful jewelry. She walked towards it with wide eyes. He handed it to her. She turned it over in her hand just as he had, looking at it closely and admiring the rubies. "It's beautiful isn't it? It was a gift from my sister, only minutes before the plague took her."

Nellie looked from the ring to him with sadness now in her eyes. "Oh Mr. T, I'm so sorry. I never even knew that you, Benjamin, 'ad a sister."

Sweeney shook his head. "That's because I didn't want you too. She was already pretty sick when we first met; I knew she was going to be going. I just didn't want to upset you with that or anything."

Nellie walked over to him like she has a few months ago and wrapped her arms around the man's neck, pulling his head against her stomach. "Oh Mr. Todd, you've lost so many that you care so much for. I'd be so lost by now, 'ow do ya deal with it all?"

Sweeney chuckled and sighed. "I don't know Mrs. Lovett." Then he smiled, this woman may be calming, but she wasn't going to distract him from the real purpose of his visit. "That's why I have Luisa though, to help me move on and to help me fall in love again." Mrs. Lovett just looked down at Sweeney, forcing a smile onto her face but all the while keeping her own feelings hidden behind it. "That's why I took the ring out again. Nellie, we've been friends for a long time, and I wanted to tell you first. I'm going to ask Luisa to marry me."

Suddenly Nellie felt her whole body go stiff. Did he just say what she thought he did? Impossible, he and Luisa had only been seeing each other for a few months. That just didn't seem like a proper amount of time, she could remember Benjamin and Lucy dating for a good 4 years before he had asked her. She had to be absolutely sure that this was what he had said. "I didn't 'ear you love, what did ya say?"

He removed himself from her and smiled at her happily. "I said I was going to ask Luisa to marry me, isn't that great Nellie?"

She let her jaw drop and she gave him a look of complete surprise. "Are you bloody mad? I mean I thought you'd lost ye marbles when ye killed that dreadful Italian Pirelli, but now you've really lost it! You're completely gone dearie, you've only been seein' this Luisa for 5 months, it took ya 4 years to ask Lucy!"

Sweeney wanted to laugh at his landlady's mad outburst but he knew that if he did it would blow his cover. So he simply smiled in amusement until she finished her rant about him being mad for planning to marry Luisa so soon. "Well, we get along so well Mrs. Lovett and she's just so perfect. And I thought I'd ask her today so that I could catch her by even more surprise when she realizes that I do mean it." Then he narrowed his eyes at the baker and smirked. "I mean, it worked on you. Or are you that easy to trick?"

Mrs. Lovett looked at him like he was speaking to her in a whole different language. "Listen Mr. T, I don't know what you're going on about. I just don't want to see you upset if you ask her this early on and she doesn't…" That's when she thought about his last words. What did he mean when he said that she was easy to trick? She was a clever woman; they both knew that, so what was this for? And what did the date have anything to do with this?

Then she remembered what day it was, and she slapped the barber hard on the shoulder. "That's what all of this was for Mr. Todd, an April Fool's joke? You 'ad me yelling and screamin' fer no reason to trick me? 'Ow could ye do something like that love?" She sat down in the chair across from him and buried her head in her arms, breathing heavily. Sweeney felt something then that he didn't recognize at first, pity. He meant to play a little trick that would give her a little scare; he didn't expect a reaction like this. Mrs. Lovett for one didn't think that Sweeney would ever understand how far her feelings for him went.

Sweeney got behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. He chuckled and bent down to her eye level. "Don't worry my pet, I'll let you get me back if you'd like." Mrs. Lovett just grunted, got up and stomped into her bedroom. Sweeney simply shrugged and walked back up to his tonsorial parlor.

A few hours later Mrs. Lovett was cleaning up the shop after the night rush had ended. Toby was sitting at a table, drinking a small glass of gin to help him get to sleep for the night. Nellie grabbed the last pie she had made especially for Mr. Sweeney Todd and made her way up to his shop with a tray that held the pie and a glass of gin. She balanced the tray between the brick wall of the building and her waist, knocking lightly on the door that led into the barber's shop, a smirk playing on her face. Nellie usually used real animal meat for hers, Toby's and Sweeney's pies, but tonight Sweeney Todd was in for not just one, but two surprises. He allowed her to enter and she hid the smirk quickly as she opened the door. "Brought ya some dinner love." She brought the tray over to Sweeney and put it in his lap as he sat quietly in his chair.

Sweeney looked up at her with a look of indifference then back down at his dinner. "So, can I assume that you've decided to forgive me my pet? I didn't intend to upset you as much as I did."

Nellie smiled and gave him a small peck on the cheek; he smiled slightly but stopped quickly enough so that she wouldn't catch it. "I know Mr. T, maybe I did overact a tad bit. You were just in the mood of the day. I'm sure you know that five months is a very brief time." She took a quick glance at the pie she had prepared. "Well, why don't you eat up now dearie? You should eat before it gets cold." He nodded and took a bit of the pie; Nellie put a hand up to her mouth to hide the smile that appeared. Suddenly Sweeney's expression turned form one of calmness to one of displeasure. Nellie spotted this and tried to act as innocent as she could. "Why Mr. T, what's this face for? I mean, I know you don't usually eat even half of the pie. Do they **still** taste 'orrible?"

Sweeney shook his head and took a big gulp of the bite he was chewing on. "No my pet, it's just. This tastes a bit, off." Mrs. Lovett pretended to look confused and disappointed; she knew exactly what she was doing. She also knew that she was doing a good job of it; he seemed to be falling for it easily. Sweeney cringed at her saddened face. "It could just be me though, maybe I'm just not hungry enough my pet."

Now Mrs. Lovett smiled, this was the perfect time for her to reveal her secret. "Or it **could** be the pie?" Sweeney looked at her puzzled. "Well, first of all, that's not animal meat you're eatin' love. And second of all, I found an old bottle of a certain product that was once sold by a late Italian barber. Mixed it into your pie is all dear." Suddenly Sweeney looked like he was about to vomit, he looked down at the pie and pushed it off of the tray and onto the floor. "Just consider it my payback for your little trick earlier." She gave him a smirk then turned around to leave, giggling the entire way. He grabbed the gin and threw a bit into his mouth, washing out the taste before swallowing it down. He shuddered at the thought of not really the fact that he'd just eaten a bit of a person, but that he had just swallowed, piss. He sat back in his chair thinking of the baker. She had done it again; she had gotten him with the best prank of the day. The woman really was a bloody wonder and he really didn't know what he would do without her. She really seemed to be one of the main aspects of his life that were keeping him alive, plus she wasn't half as bad as he had thought when he first returned to the city. She really was quite an interesting and quirky woman; he relaxed again with a slight smile on his face and lost himself to his thoughts once more.

**So there you have it, chapter 3. I know it's a day late, but better late than never. I also knew it was a bit of a distraction from the story, but I just wanted to do an April Fools story and I was thinking of ways that I could fit it into the story. If anyone has any ideas for what I could do for the next chapter don't hesitate to let me know. I'm really thinking of making this end in a Sweenett/Toddett, but I don't want to jump right into that. So if anyone has any ideas let me know and I will credit you. : ) Again, thanks for reading and reviews are appreciated greatly. **


	4. Two Good Friends

**Two Good Friends**

** Okay, let's see if we can get this story to become more, interesting. Things are going along as usual, Sweeney and Luisa are a happy couple and poor Nellie is as jealous as ever. That is, until an almost incident causes the two women to become, dare I say good friends? And the only way to keep Luisa from really becoming the new Lucy might be for Nellie to save her and put herself into danger. **

Nellie Lovett was making her way back to the pie shop from the closest butcher shop; she had just purchased a large amount of meat. Sweeney had stopped slitting throats for a couple of months now, but she wasn't complaining. She didn't have to spend all of that time separating the human meat from human bone any longer and the smell in the bake house was a lot more tolerable than it had been. As she was walking she started thinking about Sweeney and what exactly had caused him to stop making victims out of his customers. Maybe it was Luisa, the fact that he had someone to make him so happy again made him change himself. She was so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't looking where she was going and before she knew it she and another figure had collided. She had fallen to the ground but the other figure only gasped in shock. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't lookin' where I was goin' and… Mrs. Lovett, that you dear?"

Mrs. Lovett looked up to see a surprised Luisa holding her hand out to help the baker up. Mrs. Lovett accepted and said "No apologies needed Luisa, I wasn't payin' much attention meself." She then looked down to the girl that was standing shyly next to her mother holding a doll. "And 'ello to you Joan, tha's a pretty doll ya 'ave there sweet'eart."

Joan giggled and let go of her mother's hand to shake Nellie's. "Hello Mrs. Lovett m'am, this is Susan." Joan gave the doll to Nellie and she examined it. The doll had large brown eyes and long curly dark brown ringlets of hair. The doll was wearing a red and black dress with black shoes. "Hey, her 'air looks like yours." Nellie chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Mum bought 'er for me today. She really liked one with short blonde 'air in a pink dress that was already named Jenny. Then I said that I didn't want a blonde doll and I wanted to name 'er."

Nellie smiled at the young girl. "Well tha's good dear, you wanting to name 'er shows your imagination. And imagination is a great thing love." Joan smiled and took Susan when Nellie handed her back.

Luisa then spoke up. "Oh Nellie, would you like to get together, maybe go shopping down at St. Dunstan's? I mean, you live right below Sweeney and I've gotten to talk to and see him many more times than yourself." Nellie didn't like how Luisa had called Sweeney by his name, the only time Nellie did that was in her dreams. She agreed though and they decided that they'd meet at the entrance at three the next afternoon. They said their good-byes and went their separate ways.

The next day Mrs. Lovett was hurriedly getting ready for her trip to St. Dunstan's with Luisa. She knew that Luisa wanted to spend time with her so that she could simply get to know her, but Nellie's reason was more determined. She wanted to get to know the woman who Mr. Todd was so interested in. Sure she had heard a lot from Sweeney, and sure Luisa was a sweet woman when he or someone else was around. Would she end up being just like Lucy though? Whenever Lucy and she were near someone else, Lucy would act like a proper angel she would, but as soon as the two women were alone she became a two-face pretentious bitch. Nellie wanted to get to know this woman before getting close to her.

As soon as Nellie reached the market she saw a yellow head in the crowd and two hands waving madly in the air as if the person to whom the hands belonged was drowning in the sea. She quickly made her way over to Luisa and the two woman exchanged greetings. They soon found themselves enjoying talking with one another while looking along each stand.

Mrs. Lovett was the first to notice the sky turning a dark purple, she knew that meant night was soon to come. And as much as she didn't want to admit it she knew that night wasn't the safest time for women to be walking the streets, no matter how many other women they were with. Drunken men, married or not, would be out looking for any good-looking woman to have a 'good time' with. And Nellie certainly didn't want her or Luisa to be one of them. So she gave Luisa a small nudge and said with a serious face and tone. "It's gettin' kind of late, think we should go now?" Luisa caught onto her words immediately and nodded. They both grabbed their purchases and left the marketplace. Luisa had bought herself a nice hair clip and a pair of black lace fingerless gloves. After seeing Mrs. Lovett wear hers she had grown an admiration for the gloves and asked if Nellie could take her to where she had purchased hers (glove sisters-lol). Mrs. Lovett had bought a new rolling pin, her current one was falling apart. And a pair of ruby earrings, her business was doing so well nowadays that she could afford them. They were walking back to the pie shop and talking, when suddenly that simply sounded boring to Nellie and she ran ahead with Luisa running after her. Luisa soon realized that this wasn't simply Nellie trying to get to her shop quickly, but a challenge as well. They ran and ran until Nellie took a quick look behind her to see if Luisa was closing in and saw, no one! She looked around frantically and called out for Luisa, but there was no response. She made her way back, looking into alleyways, which was a difficult thing to do since the sky was growing darker by the second. Suddenly down one of the ally's she saw the tall figure of what was clearly a man and a shorter figure which she saw to be Luisa.

The man had a bottle of alcohol in one of his hands and with his other had Luisa forced against the wall. He swayed drunkenly as he got closer to her, his bad breath getting in her face, making Luisa turn away in disgust. Nellie put her stomach towards the brick wall, wrapping her hand around the edge and quietly looking into the ally, trying to see and hear the conversation. The man took a last swig of the alcohol and threw it far, making it land and break right at Nellie's feet. Nellie had to put her hand over her mouth to hide the shocked scream that almost escaped and jumped back quickly. The man snapped his head quickly in Nellie's direction; she hid herself against the wall. "'Ey, oo's there? Come on shoo yershelf! I worked har ta ge this one."

Luisa knew who it was though and she smiled at the thought of her new friend coming to help her in her current time of need. "Maybe ye just 'eard something?"

The man slapped her hard across the cheek, making her stumble away from him a bit. "Don't ya speak unvess you're spooken to!" He then began to hike up her skirts, but as it was happening Nellie was already sneaking up on the couple. Luisa's eyes widened as she saw Nellie sneaking, but she calmed down as soon as she saw her put her finger to her lips. Mrs. Lovett untied the sash from around the waist of her dress and as quick as lightning wrapped it around the attacker's eyes. He stumbled and slurred obscenities, letting go of Luisa in the process.

Luisa fell to the ground as soon as the man released her, but picked herself up quickly. Nellie tied the sash around his eyes and wrapped her arms around the man in an effort to strangle him, her legs wrapped around his lower back and stomach trying to hold onto him for dear life. Luisa grabbed a hold of Nellie's arm and screamed "Nellie, come on, we 'ave to get back to the shop!"

Nellie slapped her hand away. "No, you go! I'll take care of 'im!" Luisa tried to protest but Nellie gave her a hard glare. She nodded quickly and ran off toward the pie shop.

As soon as she reached the door Luisa could see Sweeny sitting in the shop. She opened the door and ran into his arms. He held onto her tightly and let her calm herself down before beginning to talk. The first thing he noticed, someone was missing. "Luisa, didn't you go out with Mrs. Lovett?" He remembered the baker mentioning that they were going to be spending some time getting to know one another.

Luisa nodded through teary eyes, "Yes, and we was 'aving a really good time. Until we challenged each other to see who would get 'ere first. She was pretty far ahead when I 'ad to take a break to breathe. Then this drunk man, 'e pulled me into the ally like I was some prostitute." Sweeney's eyes darkened, and for the first time in what felt like ages he thought of Lucy.

Sweeney shook away his thoughts of Lucy, trying to concentrate on the problem at hand. "Luisa, where's Nellie!"

Luisa started crying again immediately, not at him yelling at her but at the worry she was feeling for the friend who might as well have saved her life. "I don't know. She wrapped the sash of her dress around his eyes and jumped on top of him so he couldn't go after me. I tried to 'elp 'er but she told me to go straight 'ere and that she'd take care of 'im!"

Sweeny got up quickly and pointed at her. "Tell the boy, Toby, that we have to leave for a few minutes. I'm going upstairs to grab my jacket, then we'll go search for Nellie." Louisa nodded and Sweeney made his way up to his shop. He came downstairs to see Luisa sitting and waiting for him with a frightened expression on her face. He put his hands on her shoulders and consoled her. "Don't worry Luisa, we'll find Nellie. And if he's still there I'll make sure you're both safe from him." Luisa nodded and opened the door, but as soon as she looked out into the street she gasped loudly and whispered "oh goodness."

Sweeney turned to her and asked what was wrong, but as soon as he saw her distressed face he ran to the door. What he saw made him go pale (paler than usual at least) and he felt more uncomfortable than he had felt in quite a while.

**So, hope that you enjoyed chapter 4. Can you guess what happened? Well, you'll find out soon if I can get it up quickly enough. Reviews could help me get it up faster though, hahaha. ;) I don't want soda Orange Crush, I am on a sugar rush! Anywayyyyy, glad you liked it if you did. Reviewers will receive a cyber hug. **


	5. Helping

**Helping**

** Sweeney and Luisa find Nellie in desperate need of help after she had Luisa run away from her attacker as Nellie fought him off. And in this, not only does Luisa find herself becoming closer and more comfortable with the baker, but Sweeney finds that maybe the cheery baker isn't so bad. First a quick recap of the last bit of chapter 4. And remember, reviews come served with a thank you reply. **

Sweeney turned to her and asked what was wrong, but as soon as he saw her distressed face he ran to the door. What he saw made him go pale (paler than usual at least) and he felt more uncomfortable than he had felt in quite a while. On the ground, lying against one of the buildings across the street was a petite figure. Squinting, Sweeney saw that in the dim flame from the lantern that it was Mrs. Lovett. He ran across the street and got on his knees beside the baker, quickly scanning her body for any marks. Her dress was torn, her hair was out of its pins and incredibly ratty (more than usual that is). She had bruise marks and cuts on her face and arms, a bit of blood fell from her mouth and nose. Louisa put both her hands over her mouth, tears threatening to stream from her eyes. "Oh Nellie, I shouldn't 'ave left. I should've stayed with her and 'elped you fight 'im off. I shoud've…"

Nellie coughed and sputtered before speaking in a hushed tone. "No Luisa, I was right in sending you to Mr. T. Wot almost 'appened to you actually 'appened to his wife Lucy. I couldn't even imagine wot would 'appen to the man if 'e lost you like he did Lucy. It was so terrible to see Mr. Todd so miserable, I wouldn't want to see 'im like that again." The two women smiled at one another before Sweeney asked for Luisa to help him get Nellie in her shop.

As soon as they got Mrs. Lovett inside and had laid her down on the settee in her parlor Toby came running in. He ran to Mrs. Lovett's side and took hold of her wrist lightly; she flinched and pulled it away quickly screeching in pain. "Mum, wut's wrong, wut 'appened?" He immediately looked at the barber, ignoring the worried expression on his face. "You, I always listen to mum when she tells me that you're really a 'good man', but no more! Look what you've done to 'er now!" He reached up and wrapped his small hands around the barber's neck, choking him.

Mrs. Lovett tried to talk him off of Sweeney, but her voice was too weak. Luisa on the other hand could just make out the boy's name so that she could speak for Nellie. "Toby, let go of 'im, 'e didn't do nothing to Nellie."

Toby didn't believe this woman who was nothing but a stranger to him, or at least he didn't want to since from what he gathered this woman was dating the demon barber. And like him mum, she might say anything to save him from being hurt. "No, he's always yelling at mum and bullyin' her! I'm not believing anything you say."

Luisa got in back of Toby and pulled him off of Sweeney. "Toby, listen to me. On the way 'ome from St. Dunstan's tonight a man tried to, 'ave his way wiv' me. Nellie attacked 'im and 'ad me run for Sweeney. I guess he took a bit too much outta 'er." Luisa bent down and gave Nellie a soft hug, but Nellie still let out a painful gasp. "I promise Nell, I'm not forgetting this. I can never stop forgiving you for wut you did for me." Nellie lifted her good arm and Luisa held onto her friend's hand.

The women smiled at each other again until Sweeney cleared his throat. "While I am glad you two have become friends, we need to make some plans. Luisa, you'll sleep upstairs in mine and Lucy's old room. Nellie, I'll help you to your bed and I'll sleep out here on the settee." Nellie tried to protest, saying that she'd stay on the settee for the night but Sweeney won the argument, saying that she'd be more comfortable in her own bed. Luisa let go of Nellie's hand, said good-night to Toby and hugged Sweeney good-night. Sweeney picked up the baker lightly and carried her off to her bedroom as Toby opened the door. "Toby, go back to bed. Your mother will be fine until tomorrow when we can get her a doctor." Toby nodded and made his way back to bed, knowing that it would take him a while to get to sleep because he'd be worrying about Mrs. Lovett.

Sweeney looked down quickly at the baker laying bridal style in his arms before carefully laying her down on her bed. She quietly whimpered in pain, but seemed to calm down when he slowly began to console her. She nuzzled into him and he couldn't suppress a smile. He also couldn't help but think of only one word to describe her now, sweet. No matter how strange it was to think of her in this way, he couldn't help but think of Johanna at this moment. Johanna always loved being held, and would always snuggle into him when he held her, he smiled at the wonderful memory. Maybe that's just what Nellie needed, someone to hold her and treat her kindly. Maybe the boy was right; maybe he could stand to treat the baker better. Even he had to admit that he could go a bit far with the baker, and with all that she did for him, she didn't really deserve it. She was just trying to keep him healthy and happy, to keep him alive.

Mrs. Lovett woke the next day to see Sweeney sitting in the chair next to her bed. At first she had forgotten about the occurrences of the previous night, but as soon as she tried to pull herself up in bed a large amount of pain shot through her and she let out a loud but short shriek. Sweeney moved the chair so that he was facing her and held her hand in his, she smiled at him. She couldn't believe how one incident had led this man to act so kindly towards her, but she didn't mind it one bit. "Now Mrs. Lovett, I sent to Toby to get a doctor for you. He'll know how to fix you up better than I would."

Nellie nodded and leaned up against the back of her bed, wincing in pain. "Where, where's Luisa? Is she okay love?"

Sweeney nodded slowly and smiled. "Yes, she's just fine. She actually left earlier. It's already 12:30, I closed the shops, I didn't want you working in your condition."

Nellie smiled sweetly at him and squeezed his hand a bit tighter, the pain was making her drift back into sleep but as soon as she was starting to give in her bedroom door opened. Toby came in first and instantly ran to the opposite end of her bed, across from the barber. Soon the doctor entered, shaking his head at the sight of the weakened baker. She looked at Sweeney worriedly and he just mouthed that she 'stay strong.' She smiled at the doctor and said "G-afternoon Doctor Blueanie", she and Sweeney both realized that her voice was better than it had been the night before.

Before getting to work, he asked what had happened that put Mrs. Lovett into her current state. Sweeney explained what he could remember from what Nellie had said the previous night; the doctor turned his gaze to Nellie and smiled when Sweeney had finished. "Well then Mrs. Lovett, it looks like you're a regular 'eroine. It may not seem like it, but it takes a lot of courage to do what you did last night." She smiled, but frowned again when she realized that Sweeney was now holding her wrist, making it throb in discomfort. The doctor politely asked Toby to leave and the boy did as he was told.

The doctor examined her body carefully; poking and pressing down on her to see at what points she would wince in pain, letting him know exactly where his work needed to be done. From what he could tell she had fractured some bones in the wrist that Sweeney had been holding onto and her right leg was broken. Sweeney looked from the baker to Dr. Blueanie, "is she going to be okay Doctor?"

The doctor smiled happily and nodded. "She does have a fractured wrist, I will need your help to calm her Mr. Todd and I won't lie by saying that it won't be painful. And her right leg is broken, so I'll need to fix that up and splint it. And I'll give you some peroxide for her cuts. The bruises will just need cold water/ice and she'll need to eat some fruits and vegetables so that her body can concentrate on healing." The doctor stood next to Sweeney and loomed over Nellie. "Now Mr. Todd, what I'm going to ask you to do is **very** important. I need you to relax Mrs. Lovett here as best as you can, that was it will be easier for me to fix up her wrist."

Sweeney nodded and began to stroke Nellie's forehead and cheek, thinking that this would be the best way to relax her. He was right, her face relaxed and small contented sighs came from her mouth. He got closer to her and whispered "Dr. Blueanie isn't here, there's no pain. All you can hear is my voice and your breathing, all you feel is me trying to calm you down, all you see is the darkness of your eyelids." She calmed down completely and he thought he heard her whisper his first name, but he pushed that to the back of his head. At the feel of her wrist bones being pushed back into place though, she screamed out in agony. Doctor Blueanie didn't stop, knowing that if stopped now he'd only have to hurt the woman more later, so he worked through her screams. Sweeney comforted the woman more, "he only wants to get it done faster Nell, and the sooner he does it the faster you'll feel better." She whimpered quietly and nodded, hot tears streaming down her face.

After what felt like hours, Doctor Blueanie had bandaged up Nellie's leg, wrist and had put some peroxide on her scars to help them disappear. "Now Mrs. Lovett, I'd advise that you not work for a few weeks. Just stay in bed and work on getting your strength up for a while, alright dear?" Mrs. Lovett nodded and thanked him. Sweeney paid the doctor and he was gone.

Sweeney walked back into Mrs. Lovett's room and sat down next to her again. She turned to face him, a pained expression on her face. "Mr. T, I'm so sorry that I'm putting you through all of this. I just wish yesterday 'ad never even 'appened now, like we could've skipped from Saturday to Monday. And Luisa just kept blamin' herself for leaving me, I told her to go. I thought I could fight 'im off on me own." She looked out her window and sighed. "I didn't get 'im enough though. I made myself search for something in the ally, anything heavy and blunt that could get him down. I found something, I can't remember what, but all it did was knock 'im out. I knew it wouldn't be enough to kill 'im, that's why I ran as best I could to get back 'ere, but I got tired and then you found me lying there." Nellie looked down at the splint that was around part of her arm and wrist. Tears started coming down again at the thought of the man coming after either herself or Luisa again, if he recognized one of them at least.

Sweeney pulled her head against his chest and wrapped one arm around her neck while he put his other hand on her shoulder opposite her bad arm consolingly. "You did fine Mrs. Lovett; you did what you could to keep Luisa safe. You risked your own life to save hers and…" He looked away in thought, it had been year since he'd seen or even heard of something like that happening. In prison they didn't care if you lived or died, people liked seeing someone weaker get hurt, no one tried to help or save anyone. "I haven't seen or heard of anything like what you did last night happening in many years. It lets me know there's still some good humanity in the world." Nellie kissed him lightly on the cheek, and to both of their surprise, he smiled. She laid against his chest again, enjoying the comfort she rarely until now received from the man she loved so much. "And anyway, if you ever see him again, make sure I'm there. I'd happily make sure he meets one of my friends for causing you and Luisa harm." Nellie smiled at the idea of Sweeney killing someone to protect her, even if he probably mostly would do it for Luisa. She didn't mind though, she liked Luisa; the two women had become close friends. And with these thoughts running through her mind, and with the comforting feel of Mr. Todd's rising and falling chest, she fell asleep in his arms.

**Phew, chapter 5 is over and out! First I'd like to apologize if Sweeney was OOC in this one. I just couldn't bear to have him act uncaring or harsh towards her after seeing her in her bad condition and finding out that she was this way because she saved Luisa. =) So yeah, any ideas for my best chapter, throw 'em at me (just don't knock me unconscious, ha ha). Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and hopefully I'll get some ideas for my next one. Oh, and what about what's going on with Sweeney and Nellie? I know I want to end this whole thing as a Sweenett, but I don't want it to move too quickly. So how's my pace so far, any ideas? Send me a P.M or just drop me a little something in a review. Thanks again, and thanks for any reviews. P.S. – Yeah, I kind of stole Blueanie from the Blue Meanies in The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" movie. XD **


	6. Her Personal Doctor

**Her Personal Doctor**

** Sweeney feels that the best way that he can thank Mrs. Lovett for what she did for Luisa would be by taking care of her in her time of need. Will he begin to grow some feelings for her though that he should only be feeling for Luisa? I do not own Sweeney, Nellie or Toby. I do own Luisa (not in this chapter though) and the male customer (you'll see). As always reviews are greatly appreciated and make me smile like the Cheshire Cat. **

Nellie guessed that she had slept through the night because the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a bright light coming through her window. She slowly pulled herself up in bed, held her wrist and smiled lightly. The pain in her wrist was pretty much completely gone, that Doctor certainly knew what he had been doing. She was glad that the pain in her wrist was going away, but the pain in her right leg wouldn't so easily diminish. She pressed down on her leg lightly and bit her lower lip. How was she supposed to keep herself busy for the next few weeks, much less all of that day? Maybe if she was quiet enough and got some help from Toby she could work the lunch time business then close down the shop for the rest of the afternoon and night. It couldn't bother her too much to do a bit of work and she wanted to continue earning money for her business. Sweeney wouldn't mind anyway, in fact some of his customers came with her recommendation and vice-versa.

She got out of bed quietly and carefully made her way into her parlor to look at the large clock that was standing against the wall. Seeing that it was only around 9 she smiled, she could make breakfast for all of them and then she could start working on some pies. She walked into Toby's room and saw that he was reading a book she had given to him. "Toby love, mind giving me some 'elp today?"

Toby looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Mum, Mr. Todd told me that you wasn't gonna be working today." She put her finger to her lips and waved for him to join her. He shrugged and got to his feet to join her in the shop. She told him that she was only going to be opening for lunch, that way she wouldn't be putting too much strain on her leg. She was a restless woman and there was no way that she was going to spend all day in bed. Together they made a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. Mrs. Lovett made sure that Toby brought up Sweeney his breakfast, telling him that if he got suspicious he should tell Sweeney that he made it. Toby agreed and made his way up to the tonsorial parlor.

As soon as he entered the shop he saw Sweeney's hard glare on him. Sweeney looked down at the tray, "what is that lad?"

Toby looked at him as seriously as he could. "Well, i's breakfast sir. I made some for mum in bed and you." Sweeney seemed to believe the story so Toby laid the tray on the trunk next to the door and left as quickly as he could.

Sweeney was sitting in his chair when he heard a knock at the door. He admitted the customer to enter and allowed the man to sit in his chair. As the barber began to mix the lather and apply it to the man's face, the customer said something that made the barber freeze. "That baker downstairs makes some treaty pies and she's quite the treat herself." Sweeney cringed in annoyance. Not just at the fact that she was working when the doctor had told her not to, but because this man was speaking so inappropriately of one of his closest friends. "I gave her one look and gave her soft skinny arm a little stroke, and she pulls her arm away while glaring daggers at me. She's a feisty little lady, I might have to ask her for some time alone one day when I'm done here." Suddenly Sweeney couldn't control it anymore, all of his anger rose to uncontrollable heights and before he knew, he slid the razor clear across the man's throat. Once he realized what he had done he cursed out loud and quickly stepped on the lever that dropped the victim quickly into the bake house. Seeing that he didn't make too much of a mess he decided that this would be the perfect time to bust the baker.

As soon as he caught sight of Mrs. Lovett pulling herself around to the customers he tugged on her arm. She spun around to face him and gasped at his discovery. "Oh, um… 'Ello Mr. T, wut are ye doin' down 'ere love?"

Sweeney crossed his arms and frowned. "Well, I thought I should see if he was telling the truth when my last customer told me that you were down here working. I think I should be asking what you're doing working when the doctor told you to stay in bed." She looked down defeated and looked up at him through her eyelashes blushing slightly with embarrassment. She whispered a quiet apology and he groaned. He cleared his throat and spoke to the crowd outside, making sure that his voice reached the few customers that were indoors as well. "I'm sorry everybody, but Mrs. Lovett's is closing now. She was injured recently and was told not to work by the doctor." The customers looked around uncomfortably and rose to leave the shop, many wishing the baker to 'get well soon' on their way out.

As soon as Sweeney had switched her sign to closed he turned to face her with anger clearly showing on his face. "Mrs. Lovett, what was that? The doctor specifically told you not to work until you felt better and what do you do; go back to work the very next day!"

Nellie let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "What was I supposed to do Mr. Todd? I'm restless, I can't spend weeks sitting around in bed doing absolutely nothing, I'll get bored to tears dearie!

Sweeney massaged his temple and sighed. "Alright if I work in my barber shop from morning to 4 o'clock, then spend some time talking to you and helping you to walk again, will you be happy?"

Nellie put her hands on her hips in annoyance. "Well if i's going to be such a problem for you to…" She saw the look he gave her and smiled. "I'd be perfectly 'appy love, I'm always 'appy to spend time with and talk with you."

Sweeney nodded and began to walk back to his shop to see if any customers had arrived, when he remembered. "Oh, um, I'll need to get into your bake house Mrs. Lovett." She cocked and eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. "That customer I was talking about before, he was saying some unnecessary things about you. I started to get angry and well, you know." She threw her hands up in the air but he stopped her before she could say anything. "Don't worry Nell, I'll go down there tonight, get him and take him down to the water. You don't have to do anything my pet."

She nodded and frowned. "I'm sorry I was out of bed. I know it was wrong but I just couldn't stay in that bed anymore, you mind 'elping me limp back?" Sweeney put her arm around his neck and slowly helped her back into her bedroom.

As soon as her got her lying down he sat in the chair next to her bed again and held her wrist. "Looks like this is doing well, has it hurt you at all today so far?" She smiled and shook her head. He smiled and started to massage it lightly, noticing how she relaxed more and more. How could she possibly resist this man when he was making her feel so good? She moaned quietly and turned her head to face his. He smiled lightly at first but that all changed when he felt a familiar, but very unfamiliar towards her feeling come up. He coughed, let go of her wrist and quickly walked out of her bedroom. As soon as she heard the door to her shop close she pulled herself up in her bed, a look of both confusion and hurt etched on her face. Why did he always do this to her? Every time he started acting kindly towards her, something happened and suddenly he wanted to distance himself from her as much as he could. He could really hurt her at times and she didn't even know if he knew that.

He did though, he knew it well. As soon as he got into his shop he slammed the door and immediately threw himself into his chair. He buried his face in his hands and took deep breaths. How could he possibly be having these feelings? He should be feeling what he was feeling now for Luisa, not the baker. Why was the baker doing this to him, without her even intentionally trying? He thought about it for a while then realized that he had really started it. He had decided to massage her wrist, he had made her respond the way that she did. He had smiled, and then he had left her, alone. He certainly was a messed up man, in more ways than just he personality.


	7. Confused

**Confused**

** Everything seems to be going well for Sweeney. Mrs. Lovett's leg is almost perfectly healed so she's back working in her shop; Sweeney and Luisa are still together. What will happen when Nellie and Sweeney start talking after she asks for his help in making pies though, and what will happen when she basically admits to him that's she in love with him? I'd like to thank thefanficwriter, she's been reviewing my chapters since the beginning and I just wanted to give her a special shout-out! So, thanks so much fanficwriter for being a faithful review thus far. ^-^ I don't own Sweeney, Nellie or Toby. I do however own Luisa and no one will tell me otherwise! **

A few weeks had passed and Mrs. Lovett's leg was feeling as good as new. She couldn't have been happier either, she was getting so sick of spending time in bed; she was so relieved to be working and making money again. Sweeney had been a big help to her as well, a real delight he had become. He had spent time with her when she was bedridden and he had walked around with her to help her gain her strength again. She rose out of bed, stretched and yawned. Suddenly she went silent when she heard a harsh cough come from nearby; she gasped and quickly ran from her room trying to figure out where the cough was coming from. She got her answer when she heard the sound of someone blowing their nose; she opened the door to find Toby sitting up in bed. The teddy bear she had bought for him some time ago around one arm and a box of tissues next to him. She rushed over to him and placed her hand on his forehead, immediately removing it. A terrified expression suddenly appeared on her face and thinking she made a mistake she placed her hands on his cheeks and suddenly felt very nervous, his whole face was burning up. "Toby, my poor Toby. You're burnin' up sweet. You sat right there love, I'm getting a doctor!" She grabbed a jacket and ran out the door in search of a doctor. Maybe she could find Dr. Blueanie as Toby had done for her.

Nellie ran around quickly until she found it, Dr. Blueanie's name. She knocked on the door quickly and soon the door opened, showing the doctor himself. "Oh Mrs. Lovett, I see you're doing better?" Then he saw her worried face "What bring you here?"

Nellie took a deep breath. "I's Toby love, 'e brought you over when I got 'urt. Well, 'es sick. 'Is face is burning up, 'e coughing and sneezing…"

Dr. Blueanie chuckled and nodded. "I wouldn't worry just yet my dear; he probably just has a simple cold. I'll come over just to make sure though."

Once inside Toby's bedroom, Mrs. Lovett walked to stand over Toby as the doctor got all of his instruments ready. He did a few tests and smiled lightly. "No need to worry Mrs. Lovett, it's just a simple cold. Keep him warm in bed, have him eat warm food and drink plenty of juices, and give him cough syrup. He'll be fine in no time." Mrs. Lovett thanked him and he left.

Sweeney came downstairs a few minutes later, seeing Mrs. Lovett leaving the shop surprised him. "Where are you off to Mrs. Lovett, need to get some pie ingredients?"

Nellie shook her head smiling. "No love, Toby 'as a cold and I'm going to the apothecary to grab some cough syrup." She was about to walk further when she turned around. "Um, Mr. T, would you mind watching 'im? Make sure 'e stays in bed like you did so well with me, if he wants juice get 'im some." Sweeney nodded and she ran off.

Nellie was making pies while Toby slept, it seemed like a lot more work without him being around to help. Back when she hadn't been as popular she didn't need to worry about making enough pies, no one wanted them anyway. Now it didn't seem like ever made exactly enough, it was always too many or too little. As soon as she heard the bell jingle she looked up to see Sweeney coming inside. He walked over to one of the shelves and reached high for the bottle of gin and a glass. "Mr. Todd, I 'ope it isn't too much to ask. Without Toby to 'elp it seems like I don't 'ave enough arms to make all of these pies." Sweeney nodded and poured himself some gin before joining the baker behind her counter.

After Mrs. Lovett had taught him how to make the pies and he had gotten a hang of it they began to talk slowly. "So, 'ow are things up there Mr. T?" She looked at him and smiled, he smiled back slightly.

"Everything's going well, you too?" She shrugged then nodded. "I'm glad to see that you're doing better. I think you were worrying Luisa, the first thing that happened the last time I went to see her was she asked how you were coming along."

Nellie smiled, "she's certainly a sweet woman Mr. Todd, I think we've become friends." Sweeney nodded in agreement. "I wish I had someone like you 'ave Luisa. I mean sure I 'ave Toby, but sometimes you want someone that you can love in a different way ye know?"

Sweeney cocked his head to the side. "Well, you had Albert didn't you?"

She laughed in a way to say yeah right. "Albert was, pretty kind. 'Owever, 'e didn't 'ave a romantic bone in his large body. He was a good 'usband but I don't think 'e really loved me." Sweeney couldn't even imagine a woman who took care of her husband like Nellie had not being loved in return. "It was fair enough though; I didn't really love 'im. I took care of him but didn't love 'im. There was just someone else that I really loved."

This seemed to catch Sweeney's attention, his head snapped in her direction immediately, though he tried to hide his surprise. "So, you loved someone else, did he know?"

Nellie shook her head sadly. "'E was married anyway and he loved 'is wife too much to pay any of that kind of attention to me. He left before I even got to say anything to 'im, probably the one man who showed me the most kindness I've ever known from a man and I just let 'im go." She stopped working suddenly, looking as if she was about to erupt in tears. "Then 'e came back to me, or at least I thought 'e had. Turned out 'e was too far gone in 'is thoughts about other people and things to think of me. No matter 'ow hard I tried to get him to notice me, 'e never did."

That was when Sweeney started to think about what she was saying. She had said that the man she had loved left her, but then he'd returned. She had said that when he came back he wasn't the same man he had been, was it possible? He thought back to the day he had returned to London, it felt so long ago now. When he had reunited with his razors she had been clinging onto him like a leech, but maybe that had just been him. Maybe it was his new personality that made him think of her actions in that sense, maybe she had just be trying to, comfort him. He looked at her and she returned the gaze and smiled at him embarrassed. Maybe there was more to that smile though, love? Suddenly he saw her drop her arms tiredly. "There, I think I 'ave enough for tonight's dinner shift." Sweeney wasn't listening to her though, he was still looking at her hand, thinking. Suddenly he was feeling what he had felt when he had massaged her wrist again. He closed his eyes hoping that it would loosen his tenseness, but it didn't help any. This time though, he didn't try to escape when he felt it, he knew he'd only upset her again. No, this time he would do what he had wanted to do then, he would stay right there.

Nellie's voce broke him out of his trance. "Well, maybe I should check on Toby before…" Suddenly she felt something tug on her hand. She spun around in surprise and looked down to see Sweeney holding onto her hand. She gasped and looked up at him; a shiver ran through her body as she looked closely into his eyes. She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to say anything to ruin the moment, she certainly didn't want it to end anytime soon though, but she suddenly became rarely quiet.

Sweeney was quick to break the silence; he was never one for awkward moments. "Um, why don't you go see how the lad's doing? Then I was wondering if I could maybe ask you some questions." Nellie nodded and turned around to leave. Why had he held onto her hand? What did he want to ask her about? Oh God, had she said too much about how she really felt about him? She creaked open Toby's door to find the young boy fast asleep in his bed, the teddy bear sitting in a chair against his wall facing him. Mrs. Lovett had moved it away from him, not wanting any of his cold germs to get into it. She snuck into his room and felt his forehead. The care she had given him so far seemed to be working; he was still warm but not as much as before. Nellie picked up the bottle of cough syrup, cringing at the memory of having to give it to Toby and his constant disapproval of the liquid. She couldn't blame the poor thing, she hadn't liked it herself when she was young, to be honest she still wasn't fond of it and wished that she could avoid it when she was sick. She closed his door quietly as she left and walked to put the bottle into the medicine and care cabinet in the bathroom. Remembering that Sweeney wanted to talk to her she quickly left, but soon saw that he was sitting on the settee in her parlor waiting for her. "So, how's he doing?"

She slowly made her way over and sat down next to him. "Better I think, felt 'is for'ead, doesn't feel as 'ot as it did this morning." She cleared her throat and began to wring her hands nervously. "Mr. T, what did you want to talk about love?"

Sweeney nodded and looked at the baker. "Right, about what you were saying before. When you were talking about the man you loved who left, then came back acting differently…" Nellie looked at the floor and gulped nervously. He knew, she had said too much and now he knew how she really felt about him. "Was he a friend of yours, a close friend?" She nodded and looked at him with probably the most expressive saddened eyes he'd ever seen. His suspicions had been correct. The man she had been in love with had been him, well, Benjamin. And she was still in love with him now; no matter all of the changes he'd gone through she still loved him, maybe even more than before. He didn't speak, even though he had been suspicious that she loved him, it was still a shock. He turned to face her, a clear expression of confusion and shock on his face. "Mrs. Lovett, Nellie, I didn't know. I mean I knew but I didn't want to believe it or…"

Mrs. Lovett put her hand on top of his and looked deeply into his eyes. "I'm sorry Mr. T, it wasn't right. You were upset about your wife and everything; all I did was try to make you forget her and acted selfish. I mean, I didn't like Luisa when I first saw how much she looked and acted like Lucy. And then we became friends and I felt terrible because I was still in love with you, and it felt like she was taking you away and I still felt all of this jealousy." Tears started welling up in her eyes and she fall against his chest, crying into his shirt. Sweeney continued to sit there, unmoving. "I'm sorry Mr. Todd, I'm just so confused. I don't want to 'urt you or Luisa, but I just can't stop being in love with you. I've loved and waited for you for too long to just stop loving you or, now that you know, to pretend I don't love you."

Now Sweeney acted, he only wrapped his arms around her to calm her but it seemed to work, he rocked back and forth slowly. "Shh my pet, there's no need for this. I know this is confusing, you're not the only one who's confused right now. All I can think to say is to just see what happens, I really don't know what either one of us can do at this point yet." She sniffled and nodded against his chest.

She removed her head from his chest and gave him a kiss on his cheek, he smiled. She sat next to him again, her crying had made her tired and she laid her head on his shoulder. She sighed then started to chuckle, "we really are in a mess aren't we love?"

Sweeney sighed and shook his head. "You have no idea my pet, you have absolutely no idea." They sat together on the settee, Nellie had fallen asleep and Sweeney sat staring into the dark and empty fireplace until he too became a victim to slumber and his head fell against hers.


	8. Apologies  Not A Chapter

**Apologies – Not A Chapter**

** Okay, so this is not my 8****th**** chapter of ****The New Lucy****, I am aware of that (of course). I was working on the story over my Easter break and at some point I started getting all of these virus hits and it completely screwed with my computer. I was just about finished with the chapter too, which sucks. The internet had been affected because of said viruses and I could not get through at all. So being very un-computer savvy I had to take it the IT dept. at my school yesterday and they still my laptop there. And I didn't want to start it over on a computer at school for worry that I might forget something that I added into my first version. So again, very sorry for this horrendous (at least to me) delay in my story. I just wanted to explain why my updating on this story is taking so very long. Just wanted to tell those who were reading and reviewing that I will my very hardest to get this next chapter up A.S.A.P! And if you're still with me, thank you so very much. I really appreciate it! I feel so terrible for not having it up yet if that makes anyone feel any better, ha ha. **

** -Helena306 PlagueRat**


	9. Thinking Differently

**Thinking Differently**

** It's a nice Sunday, a few weeks since Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd had shared that rather private moment together. Mrs. Lovett suggests that the odd threesome go to the park to enjoy the weather. While watching Nellie and Toby play together Sweeney is brought back to a memory. A memory that only makes him admire the baker even more and maybe, even more than that. I don't own Sweeney Todd. And I also don't own a perverted dead guy who can turn into a snake, so don't even ask me to borrow him to rid of any ghosts you may have in your attic. Sorry, my sister and I were watching Beetlejuice on ABC Family last night; Beetlejuice is awesome, go BEETLEJUICE! P.S. I'd really like to thank thefanficwriter, who's been a faithful reviewer through all of my chapters. As well as Miss Annabel Lenore Ragg, who's become a more recent but very helpful and faithful reviewer, so thanks to both of you. **

The first thing Nellie did that morning was look out the window to see a rare sunny day in normally foggy London. She leapt out of bed and threw open her bedroom curtains, letting the sunlight flood into her bedroom. The first thought that crossed Mrs. Lovett's mind was that it was Sunday so there would be no customers today, the second thought, a picnic. Why should the three of them waste such a nice day sitting indoors? She ran to Toby's door and rapped on it quietly; a quiet Toby emerged rubbing sleep from his eyes and yawned. "Toby love, 'ow would ye like to go to the park today? It's Sunday and such a beautiful day out, best not to waste it I'd say." Toby instantly brightened up and nodded his head quickly. "Alright then, you get dressed and get anything you want to bring with you ready. I'll make us all some breakfast, and then we can go down to the park."

Toby sat waiting for Nellie to come downstairs after giving Sweeney his breakfast, an excited grin clearly stuck on his young face. She came through the door, made two plates of food for her and her adopted son, and gave one to the boy. She grabbed onto his arm as he started shoving the food into his mouth. "Easy there dearie, I don't want ye choking now." Toby nodded and slowed his eating down.

Toby helped her to clean up the dishes then as soon as Toby retreated back into his room to grab his things Nellie walked up to the barber shop, she was going to get him to join them if he liked it or not. She knocked first, upon hearing a gruff voice welcome her in she entered. "Eat all yer breakfast love?" Sweeney snapped his head over to his desk, where there a half-eaten plate of food. "Well tha's good then. Say Mr. Todd, Toby and I were planning on going to the park now. I was just wonderin' if you'd maybe like to join us." Sweeney looked at her with a hard glare, but seeing her pleading face made his face soften a bit. He didn't think that she remembered what had happened a few weeks ago, but he did. Mrs. Lovett had in her own way admitted to him that she loved him and he had realized that all of her annoyances were really her trying to comfort him over his loss. He supposed that he could give her this one thing. He sighed and nodded his head. Mrs. Lovett grinned, ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Then realizing what she was doing and to whom she was doing it, she quickly backed away blushing and whispered a quick apology before running out of his shop with him following behind.

It wasn't until they had everything ready and both shops had been closed down that Toby noticed Sweeney was walking alongside his mum. "Oh, **he's** coming too?" Nellie shot him a dangerous look and he looked down. "I mean", he gave her a fake smile, "'ow wonderful."

After they had eaten their lunch Toby asked Nellie to help him get his kite into the air. Once he had it under control and had it flying around in the sky she walked back and joined Sweeney on the blanket under the shady tree (imagine the scene at the beginning of BtS). Nellie took a deep sigh and smiled. "Remember last time we was 'ere love? 'Ow I was talking about wanting to live by the sea?" Sweeney chuckled quickly at the memory. How then he had despised the idea, now he was thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so terrible. He had always enjoyed the water as a boy and he knew he was getting along with the baker a lot more now than then. Wait, no, he would be there with Luisa. He shook his head quickly, confusion suddenly fogging up his mind. Yes, he'd be by the sea with Luisa, not Nellie. So why had he been thinking about the baker? He shook his head again trying to convince himself that it was only a brief moment of pity for the woman, or was it? He didn't have time to keep thinking about this though, she started talking again. "'Ow's about you and me go for a little walk love, we won't go far so that I can keep an eye on Toby, just to get away a bit." Sweeney just sat there still in confusion over his thoughts, he only shook his head. She sighed in defeat, "why not love? I told ye we won't go far, not even just a short walk?" Then she saw the blank stare on his, the same one he had when he used to think about the judge. "What are you thinking about Mr. T?"

Sweeney didn't move, he only opened his mouth and said "nothing." Then he closed his mouth again, looking as if someone had zippered it shut and stared off again, lost in his thoughts.

Mrs. Lovett only rolled her eyes and got to her feet. "You're rather useless when you're like this you know that?" She turned to face Toby and closed her hands over her mouth screaming "Toby love, wanna go for a walk?" He nodded, brought the kite down and ran to his mum. "Mr. T doesn't want to go, so i's just us two dearie." Toby grabbed his mums hand and they walked off, leaving Sweeney alone to stare into space.

When Sweeney caught sight of the pair again they had gotten into a game of two person tag. Nellie was running slower than Sweeney could only imagine she could truly run, in order for Toby to catch her more easily. He watched her as she ran behind a tree dodging side to side as Toby tried to tag her. She screamed as he went to tag her and ended up losing his balance, bringing her down with him. She hovered over him and tickled his stomach; he attempted to breathe in between fits of laughter and screams. Sweeney watched the two and couldn't help but show a small smile, while inside feeling a twinge of sadness. He wondered if this was how it could have been with his family. He could only imagine Johanna's sweet childish giggle as he and Lucy tickled her.

The sound of the boy's voice brought the barber back to the present. "Come on mum, chase me again." Mrs. Lovett laughed and began to chase her adopted son again, reaching out her arm occasionally attempting to tag him. When she finally caught him she announced her victory. He grinned, turned around wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. "I love ye mum, you're the best." She smiled and returned his loving embrace and words. Sweeney continued to sit and watch them, allowing a not so pleasant memory to enter his mind.

"This is all yer fault ye know!" Albert Lovett's voice was raised so loudly that Benjamin Barker could hear it upstairs in his apartment. Luckily Lucy had taken Johanna for a walk, so the yelling of their neighbors below wouldn't upset the infant. "You and your foolish clumsiness made this 'appen woman!" The kind barber didn't know exactly what had happened that was making Albert so mad, but he thought he had a good idea what it was. He had seen them leave in a carriage late in the afternoon or early in the evening the day before. And when they got back later Benjamin had a clear view of her face. It was very serious but with a clear expression of anguish, as if she had returned from the funeral of someone close to her.

A few hours later when Lucy and Johanna had fallen asleep he had decided to check on the woman he considered to be his best friend, besides Lucy of course. The first thing he saw when he descended from the indoor staircase, Albert had made a bed for himself out of a pillow and blanket on her settee. Either he didn't want to be around her or vice versa. Benjamin slowly made his way to the door with the small amount of light pooling on the floor; he creaked it open a bit and looked inside. Mrs. Lovett was sitting on her bed, tears threatening to make a river on the floor as she quickly wiped her eyes with tissues in attempt to stop the tears from falling. He couldn't make out what she was whimpering through her crying and quick breaths, all her could make out were the words "lost" and "gone." That was when he thought about it. He had noticed Nellie had been looking different lately; not wanting to unintentionally insult her, he hadn't said anything.

"Right, it's my fault! I'm the one 'oo bloody drinks all day. Then when something is said that upsets me, **I'm** the one 'oo starts pushing me around and pushes me down the stairs! It's all, **my**, damn, fault!" Ben blinked as he brought himself back to the situation at hand. He opened his door, walked outside and sat on the steps. He knew it wasn't right to eavesdrop, but he was worried about Nellie, worried about what was going on in the shop below his own. He was ready to intervene at any moment he might need to.

"Yes, if you 'ad just shut up and hadn't started yelling at me I wouldn't 'ave done any of that. You started a fight though, and that's what you got. You couldn't just be a proper wife and nod your 'ead, you 'ad to put start arguing back at me didn't you! Well you know, you got what you deserved!" Albert turned away from her and began to walk away. Ben shook his head, he knew that couples could get upset when something like this happened, but he never imagined anyone could say anything like that.

Nellie hung her head and asked in a quiet voice "Did **'e** deserve it?" Albert stopped dead in his tracks and spun around quickly. "Yes Albert, he. I wasn't gonna tell ye, I was going to let you be 'appily surprised." Then her sadness turned to anger and resentment again. "Did he deserve what 'appened to 'im, did he deserve to not even once see us or anything else out 'ere?" She made her point by stretching her arm outward then bringing it back and pointing it to her stomach.

Ben's suspicions had been correct. Her face the night before had been appropriate for one of a funeral, but this time, for a person who had not even yet been born. "It's better this way anyway, **Eleanor**. You barely pay me any attention; ye work in this shop making pies all day, 'ow could you possibly care for a child? You'd be a terrible mother and I'm glad our son won't 'ave to realize that!" Nellie turned away from her husband with her mouth hanging open in shock to face the window on the opposite side, but when she saw Ben's beautiful sad expression she looked down in more shock and embarrassment.

Sweeney saw Albert struggling to throw on his coat as he stormed out of her pie shop. He saw Nellie fall to the floor, one leg overlapping the other to her side, one palm on the floor and the other angrily wiping tears from her eyes. Then the memory slowly began to fade away as he saw the baker and the young boy making their way up the hill to him. Mrs. Lovett smiled and patted him lightly on the shoulder. "You alright love, ye look upset about something." Sweeney shook his head and whispered a quiet 'fine.' "Then ye ready to go? I's gettin' ate and I think Toby's all worn out for the day." Sweeney nodded and helped her and Toby put all of the plates and glasses back into the basket. He rolled up the blanket and carried it as Nellie looped her arm through the barber's, holding the basket in that hand, while holding Toby's hand with her other.

Later that night after the three had eaten dinner, much to both Mrs. Lovett's and Toby's surprise the barber had joined them for dinner as well. And after Toby had gone off to bed, Sweeney caught the baker sitting in her parlor reading a book; he sat down next to her. "To what do I owe this pleasant visit Mr. Todd?" She looked away from her book slightly and gave him a small smirk.

Sweeney sighed and folded his hands on his lap. "I was just thinking about today, how you were playing around with the boy. How you've put a stop to his, if I may call it this, gin craze. How you did a very good job with him when he was ill. How you said we should try not to do the killings anymore for not only our own safety but his as well, and how successful that's been, besides the one time those weeks ago."

Nellie smiled and gave him her full attention. "Well 'e is like me own child. I wanna do what's going to be best for him and I want to make sure 'e's 'appy and loved, like what a true mother would do. Why are you bringing this up dear?"

Sweeney turned to look at the baker, a troubled look on his face. "This afternoon when we were leaving and you asked if I was feeling alright, I lied when I said I was fine. I was actually remembering something from the past. Remember when you, well you, lost your son?" Nellie blinked back the tears that were threatening to start falling, she hadn't thought about that in years. And thinking about it now was only bringing back the painful memories. "Well, you knew that I was watching. And I heard what you two were saying. Nellie, Albert was wrong. You're great with Toby, I think you're great with him and honestly, I think you'd be quite a proper mother." Nellie blushed coyly and smiled.

As Sweeney sat in his barber chair later that night trying to fall asleep, he let his thoughts take over. He thought about the day the three of them had spent together, he thought about watching Nellie play with Toby. He thought about talking with the baker a couple of hours ago, he thought about what they had talked about those few weeks ago. He leant back in his chair and allowed a tiny smile to appear on his face. Mrs. Lovett was an interesting and fascinating woman indeed. He had gotten to know her and he admitted that he'd gotten closer to her over time. She really was a very sweet and kind-hearted woman, plus in some ways that he never tell another living being, she was different from any other woman he had ever known. She was quite, good looking, in her own unique way. It wasn't clear if he was aware of these thoughts but didn't want to rid of them just yet, or if he was so completely in his own world that he wasn't even aware of his kind thoughts of the baker. What was clear, these thoughts were with him and he wasn't exactly forcing himself to push them away.

**So, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is supposed to be chapter 8, but because I took so long getting it out I thought I'd send out an apology note explaining why I was so late with this chapter, and apologizing for my terrible updating. So anyway, I hope those that have been reading and reviewing can forgive me and I also hope they liked reading chapter 8. **


	10. Confession

**Confession**

Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Nellie Lovett sat together in one of the booths in the corner of her pie shop. They were both having a wonderful time talking and feeling slightly drunk from the gin they were drinking. Nellie sat with one of her elbows on the table and her chin on her palm, staring at the man she loved so dearly. Her eyelids threatened to close with a mixture of intoxication and fatigue. Suddenly she bolted upright, only to fall against him and find him roaring with laughter as she gave him a huge grin. She gave him a small kiss and he returned the action. When she pulled away he put his arm around her and she leaned against him. "I love you Sweeney" she said wearily.

He looked down at the almost sleeping baker and said quietly "My Nellie."

"Yes Mr. T?" Sweeney looked down to see a sleeping Nellie Lovett, so how was she still talking to him unless…

The scene before him faded and when he woke he found that he was sitting in his chair, the same place where he had fallen asleep the night before. Suddenly he heard the baker speak again. "Did ye say something love?"

He had to think of something fast. "My belly, um, I think I'm hungry."

Nellie chuckled and walked over to the barber with a tray of food. "Well I never imagined you to be the kind to say belly dear." She set the tray down on his lap but he only looked at it. Nellie watched him with a concerned look on her face. "Ye feelin' alright Mr. Todd?" She outstretched her hand to feel his forehead for a fever but he only swatted it away and mumbled that he was fine.

As soon as he saw her face he regretted his action. "Why do you do that Mrs. Lovett, why do you act like you care about me?"

Nellie chuckled and shook her head. "What kind of question is that? I act like I care about you 'cause I do ye silly man!"

Sweeney looked up at her. "Why do you care though? I know I haven't done anything to make you want to care."

She shrugged and smiled at him. "I don't know, I mean, I would like to think that we're friends. I have other friends but I like to think that you're one of my closest. Plus there are some things that we share that no one else could know." This time she gave him a small smirk and he nodded his head slowly before turning his face to face his large window that overlooked the city of London.

She rose and was about to leave when he spoke again. "Mrs. Lovett, can I ask you a question?" She turned to face him and he continued. "What does one do when they're with someone, but they have a somewhat romantic dream about another?" Nellie's heart skipped a beat. Did he love her; did he really just say that he'd had a dream about the two of them being together?

She had to force herself not to think so far ahead and to calm down. "Well Mr. T, if it were me I would talk to the other person first. If I believed that I 'ad loving feelings for 'em I would personally want to know how they felt about me first. If they had no interest it would 'urt of course, but I'd just try to move on and concentrate on the one I was with. If they were interested, I'd try to find a way to talk to talk to both of them and then go on from there." Sweeney thanked her and dismissed her from his shop. She felt so happy as she walked down the stairs to her shop that she could swear she was floating on air. Still, there was a part of her that was uncertain. If he had meant that she was the other woman, wouldn't he have talked to her then? She tried to push these thoughts out of her head all day but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget. Her thoughts were so consumed that she could barely get any sleep that night, all she heard was his voice ringing in her head as he talked to her and her after thoughts. They plagued her like the answer to a question that one knows but simply cannot remember.

The next morning it was evident to anyone who might have seen her that Nellie was suffering from the results of a sleepless night. As soon as Toby saw her he ran to her side. "Mum, you look terrible. Did you sleep last night?" She knew that there was no use lying to the boy so she simply shook her head. He took the wooden soon she had been using to scramble the eggs out of her hand. "Mum, you go to sleep. I'll take Mr. Todd his and everything." Mrs. Lovett smiled and gave him a small kiss on the forehead before dragging herself back to her bedroom.

As soon as Sweeney saw Toby with his breakfast instead of Mrs. Lovett he knew something was wrong. "She was too tired Mr. Todd, she hadn't gotten sleep" Toby answered quickly. The barber nodded and took the tray away from Toby without a word. As Toby made his way downstairs he couldn't help but question the odd behavior around him. Mr. Todd was understandable; he was always in a cranky mood. Usually Mrs. Lovett was more active in the morning though, what was wrong?

Toby was relieved when Mrs. Lovett emerged from her bedroom a few hours later looking more rested and more like her normal self. "Thanks for the rest Toby love. Something was bothering me all night and I really needed a little rest." He asked what had been bothering her but she simply said that it was nothing for him to get worried about. Everything was going normally again until Nellie spotted Sweeney coming down the stairs for the first time that day as she was preparing a pie. Suddenly all that she wanted to do was hide from him, so she quickly ducked down behind the counter.

It wasn't long until he found her hiding though. "What are you doing down there?" she quickly made up a lie and when he wasn't looking she plucked out on of her hair pins and jumped back to her feet. He raised an eyebrow at her and said "I saw that my pet, why are you trying to avoid me?"

She flicked her wrist at him and smiled. "You silly man, I 'aven't been trying to avoid you. Toby told you I wasn't feeling too lively this morning didn't 'e?"

Sweeney nodded, "yes he did but you usually come up a few times a day. And well, I haven't seen you since you brought me dinner last night. And even then you didn't talk to me; I was just wondering if there was something that I said."

Nellie smiled sweetly, even if he hadn't said it exactly it sounded like he was almost, missing her. "'S'alright love. I'll come up later and we can talk some more."

Before he could think of a better answer he said "No it's fine." As soon as saw the same look appear on her face as the previous morning he wanted to slap himself. Part of him was pushing her away when he knew that he really wanted the opposite. "What I meant to say was, you don't **need** to come up and talk, but you may if you would like to." She smiled and got back to her work. He grabbed a glass and a bottle of ale and sat down at one of the tables. He did want to talk to her about something, but it wasn't until yesterday that he really knew how much he wanted to talk with her. It could wait until later though. For now he was content with watching the baker at work, suddenly interested in what else besides the secret ingredient went into baking the most delectable pies in the city."

That night, after the customers from the dinner rush left, Sweeney was ready and waiting for Mrs. Lovett when she came in with his pie. He decided that this would be the best time to talk to her. Nothing was around to distract either one of them and Toby was busy cleaning the shop downstairs. She set the tray down and was about to leave when Sweeney began to speak. "Who was that woman you waved to Mrs. Lovett? Then when you turned around you had that big smile on your face." She smiled and again and he nodded. "Ahh, so that was **her**?"

Nellie let out an excited shriek. "Can you believe that I'm so popular now? I finally 'ave that Mrs. Mooney beaten!" He nodded and she gave a small peck on the cheek but as she was about to run out the door he grabbed her arm.

"I still want to talk to you, you were too busy earlier." She nodded and sat down on the trunk next to the door. "I was thinking about what you said the other morning and you're right Nellie. So I want to know now, how you feel about me."

Nellie thought that her heart was going to explode. He really did love her and he wanted her to tell him that she loved him back! "Well I, um, I." Sweeney walked over to her, she looked up at him and saw a subtle tenseness to his face. She smiled and answered quietly "I love you Mr. Todd." She bit her lip nervously and fought back the fresh batch of tears that were starting to form.

Sweeney put his hands on her shoulder and smiled. "First of all, stop shaking. Secondly, please just call me Sweeney. And third, I love you Nellie Lovett." She couldn't hold it in any longer. She jumped up, wrapped her arms around his neck and forced her lips onto his. Neither one of them knew how long they stayed like that for, but it felt far too short before they had to stop and breathe. Sweeney gave her a smile and pulled her towards him. She rested her head on his shoulder and with her arms around his back, she sighed. And her final thoughts at that moment of how perfectly imperfect her Sweeney was and how everything was just that word, perfect.

**Okay, so first of all I REALLY want to apologize for my lateness. I will honestly be surprised if anyone even reads this because I've been so bad with my timing. Between my summer job and constant computer problems with my laptop and home computer I wasn't able to do anything for this story over the summer. And then once school started, don't even ask! X_X I did it though, finally, and I really hope that those who were reading continue and enjoyed this chapter. So again, I'm very sorry. *Gives a very sad face.* And I hope that I can have forgiveness. : ) Oh, and one more thing! HAPPY 32****nd**** BIRTHDAY TO A BEAUTIFUL AND TALENT WOMAN TODAY SEPETEMBER 22****ND**** 2011! I bow to you and your amazing brilliance Miss Emilie Autumn Liddell! Peace, c(_) (yes that is supposed to be a teapot) and :3)~~s!**


	11. Caught

**Caught**

**I'm finally onto my next chapter, it took long enough. I don't even deserve to get any readers for this. Before I go on though, I need to get some very big thanks to a great fanfic friend. So thank you so much Logan (InsaneObsessions) for all of your help. XD This chapter is dedicated to you and your amazingness; I hope I have appeased you and that you do not repeatedly say "ni" to me my friend. XD So enough going on and on, I need to start this chapter at some point. **

When she took her head from his shoulder they smiled at each other. She chuckled and he tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. She blushed lightly and her eyes seemed to twinkle with adoration. "Say it again Sweeney."

Sweeney smirked and gave her a confused look. "Sat what again my pet?"

She gave him a playful slap on the shoulder and rolled her eyes. "You know what exactly love, now say it again."

He laughed at her annoyance and said out loud, "I love you Nellie Lovett." She whispered something in his ear and he rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth wide and screamed "I love you Nellie Lovett!" He saw the biggest smile he had ever seen appear on her face but it quickly disappeared as his lips landed on her again. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her until she lost her breath. That was more than was necessary though, because as soon as Sweeney opened his eyes he caught a sight that made his body stiffen. He pushed Nellie away quickly and she was about to question his rash action when she saw his expression and where it was turned. She spun around quickly to only hear footsteps quickly running down the staircase, Sweeney ran next and threw open his shop door. Nellie could only stand there in a mixture of shock and worry. She wasn't absolutely certain but she was pretty sure of whom that other person was.

Sweeney ran after the person and when he finally caught up to her he spun her around so that she was looking at him. Luisa's face was covered in wet tears, the look on her face easily showing her pain. He tightly wrapped his arms around her to stop her from getting away; threatening to not let her loose until she promised him that she wouldn't run off again. When he finally let her go she started speaking again. "'Ow could you Sweeney? Just when I was really thinking I was really falling in love wiv' you and now I see you kissin' someone else, and it's Nellie!"

She wiped her face and turned away from him. "I know, I'm sorry Luisa. I really do care about you Luisa, I don't know what came over me."

Suddenly Luisa's pained expression turned to one of anger. "Clearly you did, otherwise you wouldn't 'ave screamed 'I love you Nellie Lovett' at the top of your bloody lungs!" Sweeney tried to speak but nothing was coming out. "Forget it Sweeney, I should've known. I didn't want to say this but I was somewhat suspicious."

Sweeney looked confusedly at her. "You knew, how?"

Luisa rolled her eyes at him. "Come on Sweeney, it's not exactly impossibly to see. Even when we first started dating and you'd complain about 'er you'd go on and on about all of these problems ye had with 'er. Ye wouldn't leave 'er side once when she was 'urt, and then when she was better it was even worse. I should've known this was 'appening, 'ow long have you two been together? I jus' wanna know is all."

Sweeney held onto her shoulders and shook his head. "Not long Luisa, it just started when you saw us, really. She had said earlier that she had feelings for someone and when I realized it was me. I don't know Luisa, something just happened. Then when she got hurt and I helped to gain back her strength I just got to know her more and got closer to her. Maybe I just shouldn't have helped her so much, maybe it made me get too close to her. I do care about you Luisa, you need to know that."

Luisa shook her head and sighed. "I don't know Sweeney; if you really cared you wouldn't have been kissing Nellie. I mean, it's wonderful that you 'elped her out when she was in need. I just, I don't think that we should be together when you so clearly have love for someone else."

Sweeney knew that this was true, but he didn't want to make Luisa upset. "No I don't Luisa. She made me say it, she's just jealous of you because you look so much like my first wife. She can't stand the thought of me being with someone as wonderful as Lucy was."

Luisa groaned and spread out her arms. "Sweeney, please just stop this. Stop saying all of this just to spare me feelings or whatever your goal is in this. You can't expect me to actually believe that you don't love Nellie."

Suddenly Nellie appeared from the bottom of the staircase. "Luisa you 'ave to believe us, we didn't mean for this to 'appen. Neither one of us really planned for this to happen. It started with one thing, and before we knew it we were confessing that we loved each other."

Luisa just shook her head with tears in her eyes. "I 'ave to go, I just came over to see you Sweeney and left Joan with my visiting sister for a bit. Now I see that it was a mistake." She didn't say goodbye or wave behind her as she walked away, she just left them standing there. Sweeney didn't look upset exactly but he didn't say anything either, all he did was turn and walk back up the steps to his shop. Nellie wanted to run after the man she loved but she knew that he'd want some time alone. So she decided to wait in her shop for him to come to her.

About an hour went by and Sweeney came into her shop. While standing behind her counter and keeping her head down, her eyes rose and followed him as he walked behind her and grabbed the gin bottle and a small glass. Nellie felt an invisible cool air pass between them as he walked back to one of the tables. She could swear that this was going to be it. He had just told her that he loved her and because of this, it would all be over and he would take it back. She began to walk away into her parlor but turned around at the last second. "I'm sorry about everything Mr. Todd. It wasn't right of me to tell you that I loved you. I know you cared about Luisa, she was me friend too. I knew I'd fall in love with you all over again when I let you stay here; maybe I shouldn't have done that. Or maybe I shouldn't 'ave let you take care of me when I fell. It was all a mistake and I apologize."

She continued to walk away but Sweeney quickly caught up to her and grabbed her arm. He spun her around and held tightly onto her shoulders, looking deeply into her teary eyes. "Nellie, you may regret all of that, I don't regret any of it though. I'm very thankful to you for letting me stay and I'm glad that I could take care of you. There's nothing wrong with you being in love either, in fact I think that I started feeling something earlier as well. On April first when you got me with that prank I began having some, fond thoughts of you. Then when you got hurt and you fell asleep on me, I don't know, I just liked it. I liked having someone to hold onto again, especially that person being someone that I felt so, connected with."

Nellie wrapped her arms around the barber and nestled her head on his shoulder. "When you came in ya were ignoring me, I thought that you were mad at me love?"

Sweeney held onto her tightly and whispered. "I was upset at first, but I'm not mad at you. As time went on I don't think it was supposed to work between Luisa and I. She was very sweet yes, but we know each other and have connections that others can never know, not even Luisa." Nellie took her head off of his shoulder and smiled at him nodding. He held out his arm and smiled. "Join me my love?" She chuckled, took his arm and followed him back to the table where he was sitting. Things were going perfectly now and Nellie hoped that it would continue that way for as long as possible.

**A few months later Nellie and Sweeney were engaged, and life for them now was as wonderful as it could be… Okay, now commence to smack yourself if you fell for that last sentence, because I have just made a fool out of you. Yes I'm being a liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar! Anyway, again I know this was a long time coming but I get distracted so easily and that sucks for me. So if you reply to this I will be incredibly surprised and thankful. Oh, and I will actually get in front of my laptop and bow down to any who read and reply to this chapter. Really, I don't deserve anything with my horrid excuse of lateness. Now I have to go scold and punish myself for this. Oh, and forewarning, I will be making someone come back. You can't have a good ending without a bit more trouble, am I right? **


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